TS 

\<V50 



REPORT 



International Congress 

o 

l-'OR THE 

Unification of the Numbering of Yarn, 



HELD AT THE INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION, 
PARIS, SEPTE!V1BER 3-4, 1900. 



MoNSi-ni. FERDINAND ROY, 

Recording S^'cr^tary of the Congress. 



Translaled by Mr. C. T. H. WOODBURY, 

New England Cotton MAwurACTtiRERs' Association, 

Apri' 25, igoi. 



ealt^am, Pass. 

E. L. BARRY, PRINTER. 
I9OI. 




Class, TS-14^0 

Book JL-L__C 

1 SOOo. 



R EPO RT 



OF THE 



International Congress 



FOR THE 



Unification of the Numbering of Yarn, 

HELD AT THE INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION, 
PARIS, SEPTEMBER 3-4, 1900. 



Monsieur FERDINAND ROY, 

Recording Secretary of the Congress. 



Translated by Mr. C. J. H. WOODBURY, 

New England Cotton Manufacturers' Association, 

April 25, 1901. 



aSaltljam, Pass. 

E. L. BARRY, PRINTER. 
19OI. 



BY TRANSFER 



Wl,,.' 3 1910 



CI 



REPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS FOR THE 
UNIFICATION OF THE NUMBERING OF YARN, 

Held at the International Exposition, Paris, September 3-4, 1900. 

BY 

Monsieur Ferdinand Roy, 
Recording Secretary of the Congress. 

'Translated by Mr. C. J. H. Woodbury. 

The following was the committee of organization. 

President. 

Emile Widmer, ViceT^resident of the French Association of Manufac- 
ture and Agriculture, member of the Commission on Custom 
House values at Paris. 



[Note. At the meeting of the Association, held at Montreal on October 6th, 1899, 
the following resolutions submitted by a committee consisting of Messrs. Nathaniel B. 
Kerr, Arthur H. Lowe and Christopher P. Brooks, were adopted. (Volume 67, 
Page 92.) 

Resolved^ That the New England Cotton Manufacturers' Association learns with 
interest that a conference is to be held in Paris in 1900 with a view to the unification 
of yarn numbering. 

Resolved, That the object of the conference is heartily approved, and that this 
Association recommends the adoption of a single standard to indicate yarns and threads 
of all materials, more especially those made of cotton. 

Resolved, That the President and Secretary of this Association be authorized to 
communicate these resolutions to the Secretary of the Conference.] 



Vice-Presiden ts. 

D. Chedville, President of the Association of Woolen Spinners of the 
Seine-Inferieure, of I'Eure and of Calvados at Saint-Pierre-lez- 
Elbeuf. 

Ferdinand Roy, Vice-President of the Association of Cloths and 
Textile Materials at Paris. 

Secretaries. 

Paul Fleury, Engineer and Manager of the Counting House of Linen 

Manufacture at Paris. 
J. Persoz, Director of the Value of Silks and Woolens at the Chamber 

of Commerce at Paris. 
Edouard Simon, Civil Engineer, Paris. 
Abbe Vassart, Director of the Technical Institution of Roubaix. 

Members. 

Agache, President of the Industrial Society of Lille. 

Angelot, Member of the Chamber of Commerce of Paris. 

Aynard, Vice-President of the Chamber of Deputies, Honorary Presi- 
dent of the Chamber of Commerce of Lyons. 

Barat, Secretary of the General Association of Cloths and Textile 
Materials. 

Besselievre, President of the Industrial Society of Rouen. 

BiPPER, Director of the Value of Silks, Cottons and Woolens at Roubaix. 

Bonte, Director of the Value of Textile Materials at Tourcoing. 

Carmichael, Jute Spinner. 

Cordonnier, President of the Industrial Society at Roubaix. 

Fougeirol, Senator. 

Georgeot, Editor of the Travail national. 

Henon, President of the Association of Manufacturers of Laces and 
Tulle at Calais. 

HuoT, Member of the Chamber of Commerce of Paris. 

Imbs, Professor of the National Conservatory of Arts and Measures. 

Isaac, President of the Chamber of Commerce of Lyon. 

Lamy, President of the Industrial Society of Amiens. 

Legros, President of the Woolen Society ofFourmies. 

Marteau, President of the Industrial Society of Reims. 

NivERT, President of the Industrial Society of Elbeuf. 



Peters, Councillor of Foreign Commerce at Epinal. 
Sebastien, President of the Industrial Society of Saint-Quentin, 
SiMONNOT-GoDARD, President of the Association of Cambric and Fine 

Linen. 
Teissier du Cros, Spinner of Raw Silk. 
Ternynck, Manufacturer at Roubaix. 
Testenoire, Director of the Value of Silks at Lyon. 
TouRON, Member of the Chamber of Commerce of Saint-Quentin. 

Official Delegates of the French and Foreign Governments. 

Germany. 

Muller, Councillor of the Imperial Office of the Interior at Berlin. 
Vogel, Councillor of Commerce at Chemnitz. 

Austria. 

de Packer, Ex-Deputy, Councillor of Imperial Commerce, President of 
the four preceding Congresses. 

Chevalier Mitscha de Maerhim, LL. D., Director to the Royal Min- 
ister of Commerce. 

Belgium. 

Ch. Mullendorf, Honorary President of the Chamber of Commerce 

of Verviers. 
L. Zurstrassen, Engineer at Verviers. 
E, Mathus, Inspector of Mills to the Minister of Manufactures and 

Labor. 

Spain. 

Raphael Puig y Valls, Director of the Section of Manufactures at the 
Exposition of 1900. 

Unired States. 

Albert Ligon, Engineer, former Mechanical Director of the New 
York Silk Conditioning Works. 

France. 

Cousin, Assistant Director to the Minister of Commerce. 
Breton, Assistant Director to the Minister of Manufactures. 
Jasseron, Assistant Superintendent of Military of the First Class. 



Great Britain. 

Austin C. B. Lee, Secretary of the Embassy. 
H. M. Brigstocke, Colleague Delegate. 

Hungary. 

Dr. Louis Ballai, Councillor of the Section to the Royal Hungarian 
Minister at Budapest. 

Italy. 

Ernest de Angelis, Senator, Commander of the Crown of Italy. 

Attilio Lenticchia, Professor of Industrial Schools. 

Baron Costanzo Cantoni, President of the Italian Cotton Association. 

Japan. 
Imanishi, Engineer of the Silk Laboratory at Yokohama. 

Luxemburg. 

Victor Conrot, Director of the Luxemburg Cloth Manufacturing 

Works at Pulfermulh. 

Afexieo. 
A. Bec, Engineer. 
J. Lebre, Engineer. 
Jose C. Segura, Agricultural Engineer, Director of the School of 

Mexico. 
Alfredo Bablot, Receiver of Customs at Mexico. 

Russia. 

Prof. Kopossof, of the Technical Committee of Finance. 
Nedykhlaeff, Chief of the Russian Section at the Exposition of 1900. 
Prof. Genechine, of the Institute of Technology at St. Petersburg. 

Sweden and Norway. 

Bi.OMBERGH, Manufacturer. 

S7ciitzer/a/id. 

Cari, Siegfried, Director of the \'aluc of Silks at Zurich. 
Rieter-Fenner of Winterthur. 

Turkey. 

Gregoire Humruz, Consulting Engineer of the Port of Salonique. 



Number of French associates, 245 

Number of foreign associates, 106 

Total number ofassociates to Congress, 351 

Votes proposed to the Sections by the Commission of Or- 
ganization. The Commission of Organization gave notice : 

1 . That the resokitions adopted in the former Congresses 
ought to be approved without renewed discussion and that the 
records of the present Congress ought to be hmited to putting 
the resokitions into practice. 

2. That the Congress should request the Minister of Com- 
merce and Manufactures of France to decree as the legal number 
for cotton yarn the number of metres to the gramme according 
to the notice authorized by the Chambers of Commerce consulted 
by the Commission of Organization of the Congress. And 
that the laws endorsed by the decree of 18 10 ought to be re- 
enacted in the new decree. 

3. That the Congress should request the meeting of a diplo- 
matic conference, in order to reach an international understand- 
ing. 

4. That after the issuance of the laws and decrees made by 
the action of the diplomatic conference, the importation of for- 
eign yarns wound in a form deemed illegal should be forbidden 
in the countries which will adopt the new system. 

5. That the Congress should name a permanent international 
Commission for the purpose of executing the work of the Con- 
gress. 

6. *That the Congress should vote to send the following ad- 
dress to the Association of the Chambers of Commerce to be 
transmitted to all the Chambers of Commerce which met in 
London last June. 

*See page 23. 



Opening Session, September 3, 1900. 

President Jean Cousin, Assistant Director of Commerce to 
the Minister of Commerce and Manufacture, in the chair. 

The formal opening of the Congress was held in the palace of 
Congresses at the Universal Exposition, Sept. 3, 1900, at 10 
A. M., Monsieur Jean CousiN in the Chair. 

Monsieur WiDMER, President of the Commission of Organi- 
zation of the Congress, thanked Monsieur Jean Cousin, Assist- 
ant Director of Commerce to the Minister of Commerce and 
Manufacture, representing the minister who had accepted the 
honorary presidency of the Congress. 

Monsieur CouSIN thanked Monsieur WiDMER for his cordial 
words. He explained that the Minister of Commerce being 
absent from Paris, found it impossible to fulfil the duties of 
President which he had accepted, and that he was charged to 
bring the expression of the deepest sympathy of the Minister 
for the work of the Congress. 

He welcomed the official delegates of foreign governments in 
the name of the government of the Republic. He congratulated 
the members of the former congresses who continued in their 
persistent endeavors to attain the accomplishment of a just pur- 
pose. It was necessary, in order to triumph, to bring a force 
of energy superior to the force of inertia. These customs have 
been long tolerated. It will require a long time to modify them, 
but the members of the Congress have on their side the time 
and merit which always complete everything in the right man- 
ner. He closed by saying that he had confidence in the success 
of the initiative steps taken by the promoters of the Congress. 

The President stated that the principal originator of the Con- 
gress was one of the officers of the Commission of Organization, 
Monsieur Chedville, to whom he gave the floor. 

Monsieur Chedville requested Monsieur CousiN to express 
to the Minister of Commerce the thanks of the Commission of 
Organization for the valuable assistance which he had accorded 



to it. He had confidence that the Minister would take upon 
himself to give a definite sanction to the votes which the Con- 
gress could not fail to pass. The French Government is not the 
only one which has grasped the importance of this Congress, 
since fifteen leading foreign nations are represented by 27 offi- 
cial delegates, while at the Congress of Paris in 1878 there were 
only six powerful foreign countries represented by seven dele- 
gates. 

He recalled the letter in which Monsieur DE Pacher and 
Monsieur MULLENDORF had declared that in their view, the 
principal end of the Congress ought to be to encourage on the 
part of the French Government the assembling of a diplomatic 
international conference which would render obligatory in all 
countries the unification of the numbering of yarn. 

Monsieur Delcasse, the French minister of foreign affairs, 
while favorable to this proposition, had not overlooked the fact 
that this class of conferences could be efficient only as the result 
of the establishment of a previous understanding which accord- 
ingly ought to be unanimous and that it would be possible for 
the refusal of a single power to wreck the conference. 

Monsieur Chedville cited the report of Monsieur Hetzer 
of Vienna who had estimated that the countries having declared 
the wish to adopt the metric numbering of yarn represented a 
population of about 120,000,000 and that the official documents 
showed that there were more than 5 50,000,000 people using the 
decimal system. He mentioned the resolutions taken by the 
171 English Chambers of Commerce in convention last June 
which had declared in favor of the metric system. He had, 
therefore, cause to hope that the English Government would pass 
the bill which would render the metric system obligatory in the 
United Kingdom for all transactions. He then quoted the last 
paragraph of the letter of Monsieur DE Pacher of Austria to 
Monsieur ALFRED PiCARD, Commissioner General of the Expo- 
sition : 

" If the Universal Exposition of 1900 accomplishes the work 
of the actual and practical unification of the method of stating 



10 

the degree of fineness of the yarns of all varieties of fibres which 
the textile industry makes for cloths in the whole world, this 
will not be the least of the merits which will ensue from this 
gigantic enterprise, and future generations will be thankful to 
France for having accomplished this reform as difficult as it is 
useful in its results." 

The President congratulated Monsieur Chedville for his re- 
port and proceeded to the nomination of the permanent board 
of the Congress, as follows: 

Honorary President. 
The Minister of Commerce. 

Acting President. 

UE Pacher L)E Theinijukg, Imperial Councillor of Commerce, Austrian 
Delegate. 

Vice-Presidents. 

1. For France: Chedville, WroMER, Fleury, Auguste Isaac, Presi- 
dent of the Chamber of Commerce of Lyon. 

2. For foreign countries : Charles Mullendorf, Honorary President 
of the Chamber of Commerce of Verviers, Belgium ; Baron 
Cantoni, Manufacturer at Milan, Italy ; Vogel, Appellee Councillor 
of Commerce at Chemnitz, Germany ; Austin Lee, Secretary 
of the British Embassy ; Carl Siegfried, Director of the Value of 
Silks at Zurich, Switzerland. 

General Secretary, 
Edouard Simon, Civil Engineer. 

Recording Secretary. 
Ferdinand Rov, Manufacturer. 

Secretaries. 
I. For France: Tesfenoire, Director of the Value of Silks at Lyon; 
the Abbe Vassart, Director of the Technical Institute of Roubaix ; < 
Arthur Bonte, Director of the Value of Woolens at Tourcoing ; 
PiALAT, Director of the Value of Silks at Saint-Etienne ; Charles 
Georgeot, Publicist, Secretary of the French Association of Labor 
and Agriculture. 



11 

2. For foreign countries : Basilio Bona, Manufacturer at Milan, Italy ; 
William Rovvlett, President of the Chamber of Commerce at 
Leicester, England ; Rieter-Fenner, Manufacturer at Winterthur, 
Switzerland ; Rafael Puig y Valls, Manufacturer at Barcelona, 
Spain ; Albert Ligon, Mechanical Engineer, representing the 
United States of America; Haarhaus, Director of the Value of 
Silks at Elberfeld, Germany. 

Corresponding Secretary. 
Lucien Beer, Manufacturer at Elbeuf. 

These several persons were elected by acclamation. 

Monsieur jEAN CousiN yielded the chair to Monsieur DE 
Packer who had been chosen Acting President. 

Monsieur DE Packer thanked the members of the Congress 
and explained his point of view of matters appertaining to the 
work of the Congress. He believed that the numbering of yarns 
could not be introduced in every country except by the author- 
ity of a law positively ordering its use to take place on a certain 
date for all textile industry and for all commerce in every kind 
of yarn. The change would be made by a law, or it would not 
be made at all. He was convinced that the spinners who com- 
menced to wind and to number their products according to the 
resolutions of the Congress before a law should be enacted to 
forbid the sale of yarns wound and numbered according to the 
old way, would probably keep their yarns and would be obliged 
to sell at a loss. 

He recalled that the international relations of yarns in com- 
merce are today too well developed for a single country, with 
the exception, perhaps, of France, to take upon itself such a 
reform without being assured that its neighbors and competitors 
would simultaneously do the same thing. The aim of this 
Congress ought to be to convince the several governments of the 
necessity of arranging among themselves upon the best manner 
of simultaneously introducing by-laws, if not identical at least 
based upon the same principle, the reform drawn up by the 
former Congresses. 



12 

He closed by saying that a great work would remain after the 
adjournment of the Congress, to the members of the permanent 
international commission which would be nominated, but he was 
convinced of the final success, because, he said, "The commer- 
cial and industrial advantages are on our side." 

The President gave the floor to Monsieur SiMON for the report 
which he had drawn up in the name of the Commission of 
Organization. 

Monsieur Edouard Simon commenced by complimenting 
Monsieur DE Packer who had had the great wisdom to follow 
continually since 1873 the reform to which the present Congress 
was devoting itself. He recalled that Monsieur DE Packer had 
already presided over the Congress of Brussels in 1874, Turin 
in 1875 and Paris in 1878. He associated with this acknowl- 
edgement Monsieur MULLENDORF, Ex-President of the Chamber 
of Commerce of Verviers. 

Monsieur Edouard SiMON also recalled the works of the for- 
mer Congresses. " In proportion as human learning develops, so 
the international relations are multiplied. The specialists of all 
countries feel the advantage of uniform measures which facilitate 
and simplify transactions. No part of this standardizing appears 
to have as urgent a need as in the textile industries where in the 
same cloth they use textile materials of different kinds." He 
thought that there was not on the part of Great Britain anything 
that could make objections of a nature to nullify the actions of 
the Congress, because the English Chambers of Commerce had 
manifested a favorable course to the adoption of the decimal 
system. 

Monsieur Edouard Simon explained furthermore in order to 
answer an objection raised by many foreign countries who indi- 
cated that even in France the unity did not exist, that the Com- 
mission of Organization had submitted to the French Chambers 
of Commerce, previous to the Congress, a project to modify the 
numbering of cotton based upon the kilogramme the same as for 
the other textile materials, and replacing the old French stand- 
ard for silk by a metric and decimal standard. 



The Chambers of Commerce have unanimously approved 
these propositions. 

He closed with these words : 

" To sum up, the standardizing is not hindered by the attach- 
ment of the EngHsh Government to a system of measures of 
which the merit is merely that of age, but the principal interests 
represented by the Chambers of Commerce and the scholars of 
England, desire the adoption of the metric system, and on many 
occasions have clearly affirmed their approval. We hope, there- 
fore, that the constant agitation at the home of our neighbors 
across the channel will help the establishment of a reform of 
which they will be the first to receive the benefit." 

The President thanked Monsieur SiMON for his report which 
contained the germ of the principal problems of the Congress; 
he stated that this work would be set forth definitely at the later 
sessions of the sections. 

He gave the floor to Monsieur MULLER, Councillor of the 
Imperial Office of the Interior of Berlin, official delegate of 
Germany. 

Monsieur MULLER declared that " all of the interests in Ger- 
many are agreed that there is no question upon the metric sys- 
tem for the international numbering of yarns and that legislation 
alone is capable of putting it into practice, but there is a differ- 
ence of opinion upon the expediency of the modification. Un- 
der these conditions the government of the Empire has not yet 
acted in this complicated question of such economical impor- 
tance, but is continuing to study it with all the interest 
which it is worth, and as soon as he has good reasons to believe 
that Great Britain will be associated in an international regula- 
tion upon the numbering of yarns based upon the metric system, 
the question will reach in Germany a great step towards its 
solution." He closed by the declaration that " My Government 
considers that on the one hand it would be strictly desirable to 
introduce by an international understanding the unification of 
the numbering of yarns, but that on the other hand it would be 
expedient that this regulation should cover completely the inter- 



14 

ests of the industries that at the present time have bought prin- 
cipally in England yarns numbered in accordance with the Eng- 
lish system." 

Mr. ROWLETT, President and delegate of the Chamber of Com- 
merce of Leicester, declared that he had always worked in Eng- 
land for the adoption of the decimal system, and also proposed 
the adoption of the metric numbering of yarns. He explained 
the dififerent methods of numbering textile materials and showed 
all their complications. He announced that there would be sub- 
mitted at the convention of the English Chambers of Commerce, 
which is to be held in England in a few days, a proposition to 
adopt the decimal system and metric numbering, but that while 
England adopted a metric numbering, it would be necessary 
that the law should impose upon spinners the obligation to indi- 
cate on their packages and on their invoices the metric num- 
bering by the side of the present English numbering. 

No one wishing to speak further, the President adjourned the 
session and announced that the sections of silk, wool, linen and 
cotton would meet in the afternoon. 

The session adjourned at ii. 35 A. M. 

[The records of the Silk Section, the Woolen Section and the 
Linen Section are omitted in this translation.] 



15 



Cotton Section. 



The cotton section met September 3rd, at 2 P. M., at the 
rooms of the general Association of cloths and textile materials 
at 6 Rue d' Aboukir, Paris. 

Monsieur FERDINAND ROY, Recording Secretary of the Con- 
gress and Delegate of the Commission of Organization made the 
following nominations : 

President, Monsieur de Packer. 

Vice-Presidents, Baron Cantoni, Messieurs Rieter-Fenner, and 
Esnault-Pelterie. 

Secretary, Monsieur Barat. 

These nominations were ratified. 

Monsieur FERDINAND ROY gave a report which he submitted 
in the name of the Commission of Organization. It pointed out 
the efTorts made by the Commission in order to reach practical 
results in France. That it was in this manner that the Cham- 
bers of Commerce of textile districts who were consulted, pro- 
nounced themselves unanimously in favor of the modific^ion of 
the present French method of numbering cotton based upon the 
number of kilometres to the half kilogramme and in order to 
conform to the decisions of former Congresses requested 
that textiles, (with the exception of silk ), should have a single 
method of numbering represented by the number of metres 
to the gramme or kilometres to the kilogramme. 

He cited that a decree of December 14, 18 10, had enacted 
this standard but unfortunately the ordinance of May 26, 18 19, 
was repealed in this respect. The Commission of Organization, 
in taking up the question, wished to submit to the favorable 
view of the foreign delegates that on their part they should make 
every effort to obtain from their representative governments the 
elimination of the different irregular methods of numbering. 

The President requested the delegates of foreign govern- 



16 

ments to make known the instructions which they received from 
their governments. 

Monsieur Rieter-Fenner, Swiss Delegate, said that he was 
authorized to declare that the Federal Council assented to all 
these declarations, and all of the decisions which the Congress 
should take. It is favorable to the introduction of the metric 
system of numbering in common with other countries. 

Monsieur MULLER, German Delegate, referred to the note which 
he had read at the opening session. He hoped that there 
would be a general agreement, and in the name of the German 
government he assented to the resolutions which Congress 
would pass. 

Baron Cantoni, Italian Delegate, stated that it was at the last 
moment that he had received the commission of the Italian 
Government to represent it at the Congress and that he did not 
have any exact instructions, but he reminded them that the Italian 
Government had always shown itself very favorable to the in- 
troduction of the metric system in the numbering of yarn. The 
only difificulty appeared to come from the fact that Italy being 
a country devoted to the exportation of yarn, the Italian manu- 
facturers arc obliged to pack and number for export according 
to the*English manner. It appeared to him, therefore, essen- 
tial to urge this upon the English Government, without which it 
would be difficult for the Italian Government to make a law re- 
quiring the metric numbering. 

Monsieur Esnault-Pelterie was persuaded that since the 
great nations, such as France, Germany, Austria, Italy, etc., are 
unanimous for a single system, England will understand that it 
is to her interest to adopt that also. 

Monsieur MuLLER reserved his action respecting those mat- 
ters which were covered by the proposed resolution demand- 
ing a diplomatic conference in order to reach an international 
understanding, as he had no instructions from his government 
in this respect. 

The President stated that it was within his knowledge that the 
Austrian Minister had received in Berlin the news that the 



17 

German Government is prepared to take part in such a con- 
ference. 

Monsieur Ferdinand Roy asked Mr. Brigstocke, the Eng- 
lish Delegate, if he could indicate what were the inclinations of 
the English Government. 

Mr. Brigstocke replied that he had not yet received any in- 
structions. 

Monsieur Frev asked that the Section should determine the 
time of transition which ought to be provided in the law enact- 
ing in every country the exclusive adoption of the metric deci- 
mal system of numbering, 

After a discussion in which many members took part, it was 
decided to propose to the general assembly the following draft: 

" That a delay of two years for the promulgation of the law 
requiring the adoption of the metric system of numbering may 
be granted for the operation of these new legal measures." 

All of the other resolutions proposed by the Commission of 
Organization were adopted. 

At the end of the assembly of Sections, the presidents of these 
Sections and secretaries met to draw up the resolutions to be 
proposed at the general assembly of the Congress. 



General Assembly. 

The General Assembly was held September 4th., at the 
Palace of Congress, Monsieur DE PACKER, Austrian Delegate, 
in the chair. 

The President gave the floor to Monsier FERDINAND ROY, Re- 
cording Secretary, to read the resolutions which were submitted 
by the oflficers of the different sections. 

First resolution. For all textile materials under the followiin^ reser- 
vations eoneerning raw and finished silks, the number is to be expressed 
by the number of kilometres to the kilogramme. 

This resolution was adopted unanimously. 



18 

Second resolution. The length of the skein perjnissahle for all kinds 
of wound yarn is fixed at i,000 metres with deeiinal subdivisions. 

This resolution was adopted unanimously. 

Third resolution. Every method of winding is permissable on the 
condition that it gives i,ooo metres per skein. 

This resolution was adopted unanimously. 

Fourth Resolution. "The number of all twisted yarn, either 

dyed or bleached, is to be determined without any other condition by 
the number of metres contained in a gramme." 

Monsieur DuCHENE offered the amendment " by the number 
of kilometres contained in the kilogramme." 

Monsieur DE Pacher remarked that the question had been 
considered in the former Congresses and that in accordance 
with the principle they had chosen the most simple formula, the 
unit of weight being the gramme and the unit of length being 
the metre. 

Monsieur Peltzer DE Clermont asked why it stated dyed 
or bleached yarn. 

Monsieur Ferdinand Roy stated that it had only followed 
one of the resolutions passed by the preceeding Congress. 

Monsieur A. Seydoux proposed to insert, " unbleached, 
twisted yarns, dyed or white." 

After a discussion in which Baron Cantoni, Messieurs Pel- 
TZER DE Clermont and Seydoux took part, Monsieur Ferdi- 
nand Roy moved to omit the words " dyed or bleached ", and 
to give explanation in the te.xt as modified. 

Fourth resolution. The number of all twisted yarn is determined, 
except 7uhen stipulated to the contrary, by the number of metres contained 
in a gramme. 

The fourth resolution as amended was put to a vote and 
adopted unanimously, except three votes to the contrary. 

Fifth resolution, ist. part. The standard of raiu and finished silk 
is determined by the weights in half decigrammes of a length of 4^0 
metres. 



19 

Monsieur VOGEL asked why they had not adopted the reso- 
lution of the former Congresses fixing the length at 500 metres. 

Monsieur Chamonard replied that the length of 500 metres 
would unsettle the customs in such a manner that it would never 
be used ; besides the Silk Section had passed a vote on this sub- 
ject of which an explanation would be given to the Assembly. 

The President asked Monsieur Testenorie to speak on this 
vote. (The statement is inserted in the report of the meeting of 
the Section on Silk, omitted in the translation.) 

After the complimentary explanations by Monsieur CHAMO- 
NARD, the first part of the filfth resolution was adopted. 

2nd. part. The samples will be made upon twenty skeins of 450 
metirs and the partial results will be written under the customary form. 

The second part was adopted unanimously. 

3rd. part. 'The bulletin will also indicate under the denomination 
of the number, the weight in grammes of 10,000 metres. 

The third part was adopted unanimously. 

4th., and last part. In every country the standard bulletins will be 
made upon the same model. 

The fourth part was unanimously adopted. 

Sixth resolution. The basis of the standard of numbering is con- 
ditional. 

This resolution was adopted unanimously. 

Seventh resolution. The conditions zuill be optional, but it should be 
obligatory upon the request of one of the parties. It will be absolutely 
dry without altering the fibre by adding to the weight the correction estab- 
lished by local usages. 

This resolution was adopted unanimously. 

These propositions adopted by the several votes were sub- 
mitted to the consideration of the General Assembly. 

Monsieur FERDINAND ROY moved that the Congress issue the 
foUowinof votes : 



20 

"That in accordance with the proposition of the Commission of Or- 
ganization, the P'rench Minister of Commerce and Manufactures wishes 
to present to Pariiament a plan for a law having this purpose : 

I St, the repeal of the law of 1819 concerning cotton yarn and the 
return to the general lines of the decree of iSio that the numbering 
may be based upon the number of metres to the gramme. 

2nd. The modification for raw and finished silk of the law of June 
13, 1866 and the adoption as the legal standard approved by the Con- 
gress and based upon the weight in half decigrammes of a skein of 450 
metres." 

A discussion then took place upon the point as to whether the 
foreign delegates could take part in a vote concerning this ac- 
tion which did not apply except in France. 

Monsieur MULLENDORF of Belgium thought that a general 
vote would have a moral effect and an approval given to the 
French members who would offer the best example through- 
out the entire world in demanding from their country the modi- 
fication of the laws regulating the numbering of yarns which 
were not found to be in accordance with the decisions of the 
Congress. 

The President consulted the Assembly upon the advisability 
of a general vote ; the majority favored the affirmative. 

After a discussion in which Messieurs CousiN, Ed. Siimon, 
MULLENDORF, FERDINAND ROY, VVlDMER, A. ISAAC, PELTZER 
DE Clermont and Strohl took part, the phraseology of this 
vote was amended as follows : 

First vote. The Congress is of the opinion that for France, in con- 
formity 7vith the proposition of the Commission of Orga/iization of the 
Congress of igoo : 

I St. The royal ordinance of May 26, 18 ig, slionld be repealed and a 
provision substituted imposing for cotton, wool and spun silk a number- 
ing based upon the number of kilometres contained in a kilogramme. 

2nd. The law of June 13,1866, concerning raw and finished silk 
should be amended and the standard admitted bv the Congress based upon 
the weight in half decigrammes of the small skein of 4^0 metres should he 
adopted as the legal standard. 



21 

In this form the first vote was adopted. 

Monsieur FERDINAND ROY read a paper on the second vote. 

Second vote. That the provisional approval given by the decree of 
j8io max be made obligatory in France. 

Monsieur A. ISAAC beheved that it would be imprudent to 
vote the proposed phraseology. He thought it would be pref- 
erable to find a wording which would invite the government to 
seek in the scope of the decree of 1810 the most proper course 
to make the decisions of the congress for the numbering of 
yarn respected rather than to ask the Government to use a 
weapon so old that it could turn against us and produce results 
which we would be the first to regret. He believed that it would 
be better not to speak of the decree of 18 10, but simply of in- 
ternational measures approved by competent men who would 
study the best means of practically carrying out the resolutions 
of the Congress. If it is to our interest to count the number of 
cotton, wool, or the standard of silk in a certain manner, we 
shall reach that only by the force of persuasion and not by the 
application of the rigors of the law. In short, he trusted that 
the Congress would not make any appeal to the penalties of a 
law to enact the decisions which it had passed and he requested 
the defeat of that vote. 

Monsieur Jean Cousin, said that he was obliged, as repre- 
senting the Minister of Commerce who had charge of enforcing 
the law and who was not to discuss when it existed, to make 
all the reservations on the point of a penal view on the applica- 
tion of the law of July 4, 1837, which had established the metric 
system of weights and measures in France. That law formerly 
forbade all denomination of weights and measures other than 
that which existed in the table annex to the aforesaid law. 

Monsieur Chedville, replying to Monsieur ISAAC, declared 
that no more than he, did the Commission of Organization wish 
to cause new impediments to the industrial work, but that if one 
should examine what occurred in practice it would be proved, 
that in spite of the law of 1810 and the forcible efforts made by 



22 

the industrial societies and chambers of commerce, old usages 
and local numberings in France prevailed under the empire. 
The Commission has thought therefore that it should need some 
word of approval. 

Monsieur SiMON of Germany was of the opinion of Mon- 
sieur Isaac, that it was not necessary to threaten but rather to 
persuade. 

The Assembly, on being consulted, were in favor of the sup- 
pression of the second vote. 

Third vote. That a diplomatic conference should he held to reach an 
international understanding. 

This vote was adopted unanimously. 

Fourth vote. That after the promulgation of the hnos and decrees 
enacted at the instance of the international diplomatic conference, the 
importation of foreign yarns wound in a form deemed illegal shall be 
prohibited in the countries adopting the new svs,tem. 

Monsieur GUERIN declared that if one applied this provision to 
the linen industry before an understanding with England it would 
cause the destruction of the linen industr}- because of the great 
international commerce in linen yarn. 

Monsieur FERDINAND RoY stated that the Commission ad- 
mitted that, exceptionally for linen, it would be necessary to 
rest in statu quo until an understanding may be arranged with 
England. 

Under this reservation, this vote was adopted unanimously, 
excepting two votes. 

Fifth vote. That a delay of two years to provide for the promulga- 
tio7i of the laws and decrees in different countries may be accorded for the 
application of these nezv legal measures. 

This vote was adopted unanimously. 

The Congress finally passed the following declaration : 

The Congress approves the nomination of a permanent commission 
charged to petition foreign governments and the French government 
for the enactment of the resolutious and votes of the Congress. 



23 

This resolution was adopted unanimously. 
Finally, the Congress voted to send the following address* to 
the Association of the Chambers of Congress at London, to be 
transmitted to the Chambers which were represented in the 
Convention held at London last June : 

"The French and foreign manufacturers and sales agents 
assembled at Paris, September 4, 1900, in the presence of the 
international Congress for the unification of the numbering of 
yarn." 

"Being persuaded that the metric system of weights and meas- 
ures is soon to be the only one used in all countries." 

"Convinced that for the facility of transactions and the simpli- 
fication of accounts, it is desirable that this result may not be 
delayed." 

" Considering that the only obstacle is that of the English sys- 
tem and that if the English Government adopted the metric 
system the question would be solved." 

"Extending to the 171 Chambers of Commerce of the British 
Empire assembled at London from the 26th to the 29th of June, 
1900, their sincere congratulations for the motion which they 
have passed requesting their government to make the metric 
system obligatory after a period of two years." 

" Have passed these votes in order that the English Govern- 
ment may reply after the shortest delay to the requests of the 
British Chambers of Commerce and at the same time at the de- 
sire of all countries which should be in harmony with business 
affairs of Great Britain." 

This address was unanimously adopted. 

Mr. Brigstocke, English Delegate, read at this point 
a declaration, of which the following are the principal passages : 
" For all countries where the decimal and metric system is 
obligatory, the application of the resolutions passed by the Con- 
gress of Paris in 1878 no longer presents the same difificulties as 
for England where the situation is entirely different: its duo- 

*See page 7. 



24 

decimal system is the principal obstacle to putting the plan in 
practice." 

"You are not unaware that England is the proper consumer of 
the greatest part of the product of her spinning mills, without 
mentioning her colonies and North America where the English 
weights and measures are legal ; on the other hand, her system 
of numbering of yarns has so entered into the practice of inter- 
national commerce that it is practically impossible to compel 
her spinners to adopt two different systems." 

"The international unification of the numbering of yarns based 
on the metric system, according to the opinion of the English 
Government, is not, under the present circumstances, acceptable 
with us, and I should add that this opinion is participated in 
almost unanimously by the English spinners themselves." 

" Moreover, I will recall to you the fact that under date of 
July 22, 1897, a bill authorized the optional employment in the 
United Kingdom of the metric system concurrently with our 
national measures, and that up to the present time, this optional 
usage has remained a dead letter. We can, then, infer that the 
spinners prefer to continue the present system, which is fully 
understood in all markets." 

" It is for these various reasons that my colleague and myself 
feel bound to declare that the Government of Her Majesty has 
accepted representation at this congress, not because it believes 
the adoption in England of the proposed system possible, but 
because its delegates can follow up with the greatest attention 
your debates and give a report of all the resolutions that you 
have adopted and the motives which prompted them." 

Monsieur Chedville thanked Mr. Brigstocke for his 
unexpected communication which informed the Congress on the 
intentions of England. He said that in spite of their discom- 
fiture, the members of the Congress hoped that matters would 
progress more quickly than the English Government believed it 
would, and that it would not show itself too reluctant to the 
adoption of the metric system. 



25 



The President asked if any foreign delegates had any com- 
munications to make. 

ChevaHer MiTSCHA DE Maerheim announced that the Im- 
perial and Royal Minister of Austria consented to be represented 
on an international committee which would be chosen by the 
Congress and charged to follow out, concurrently with different 
Governments, the formation of a diplomatic conference with the 
•object of settling in a uniform manner the question of the num- 
bering of yarns. 

Monsieur RAFAEL PuiG Y Valls said that, as a delegate of 
Spain, he conformed to the decisions of the Congress. 

Monsieur Chedville proposed that the permanent interna- 
tional Commission be composed of the present Board of the 
Congress, adding to it representatives of Governments which 
were not already on this Board. 

This proposition was adopted unanimously. 

The order of the day being finished, the President thanked 
Monsieur Jean Cousin for the co-operation which the French 
Government had given so fully to the Congress, and after having 
thanked the members of the Congress and the representatives of 
the French and foreign governments, he declared the Congress 
for the unification of the numbering of yarns adjourned. 



Permanent Commission. 

Immediately after the adjournment of the Congress, the mem- 
bers of the Permanent Commission met ; Monsieur DE Pacher 
in the Chair. 

On his proposition the Commission elected its board. 

Then he appointed the foreign delegates to constitute, each 
in their respective countries, executive committees to exploit the 
decisions passed by the Congress and to request their govern- 
ments to take part at the proposed diplomatic conference. 



26 



Membership of the Permanent International Com- 
mission, 

Elected at the General Assembly, September 4, 1900. 
France. 

Hfl 11 ra n • Pre si den ts. 

Emile Widmer, former Manufacturer, 25, rue de Saint-Petersbourg, 
Paris; Gustav de Packer, Councillor of the Im])erial Commerce, 
former Deputy. 

President. 

Ferdinand Roy, Manufacturer, T^di, rue des Jeuneurs, Paris. 

Vice President 

Desire Chedville, Manufacturer, Member of the Chamber of Com- 
merce d'Elbeuf a Saint-Pierre-lez-Elbeuf (Seine-Inferieure.) 

Genera/ Seeretary, 

Paul Flkury, Engineer, Manager of the Counting-house of Linen 
Industry, 9, rue d'Uzes, Paris. 

Seereiaries. 

Edouard Simon, Civil Engineer, 89, boulevard du Montparnasse, a 

Paris. 
Charles Georgeot, Secretary of the Association of French Industry 

and Agriculture, i, place Boi'eldieu, a Paris. 
Persoz, Director of the Value of Silks at Paris (Bourse du Commerce 

rue du Louvre.) 

Metnbers. 

Isaac, President of the Chamber of Commerce at Lyon. 

Testemoirk, Director of the Value of Silks at Lyon. 

Arthur Bonte, Director of the Value of Woolens at Tourcoing. 

Fie Pialat, Director of the Value of Silks at Saint-Etienne. 

BippER, Director of the Value of Silks at Roubaix. 

LuciEN Beer, Manufacturer at Elbeuf. 



27 

Foreign. 

GuSTAV DE Packer de Theinburg, Councillor, ex-Deputy at Vienne. 

Charles Mullendorf, Honorary President of the Chamber of Com- 
merce of Verviers. 

Baron Costanzo Cantoni, (Italy,) 12, via Brera, at Milan. 

H. VoGEL, (Germany,) Appellee Councillor of Commerce at Chemnitz. 

Colonel Siegfried, (Switzerland,) Director of the Value of Silks at 
Zurich. 

Basilio Bona, (Italy,) Manufacturer, Member of the Chamber of Com- 
merce of Turin, at Caselle-Torinese. 

W. RowLETT, (England,) President of the Chamber of Commerce 
of Leicester, 34 Newark street. 

Oskar Haarhaus, (Germany,) 12 Hofauerstrasse, at Elberfeld. 

M. Brigstocke, (Englaild,) 9, avenue de Malakoff, at Paris." 

Edward Blombergh, (Sweden), Manufacturer, at Norrkoping. 

Raphael Puig y Valls, (Spain,) of Barcelone. 

Albert Ligon, (United States,) Engineer, 35, rue des Petits-Champs, at 
Paris. 

KoPOSSOFF, (Russia,) Professor to the Minister of Finances, at Saint- 
Petersbourg. 

Jose C. Segura (Mexico,) Engineer, Director of the National School 
of Agriculture of Mexico. 

Imanishi, (Japan,) Engineer, Assistant Director of the Imperial Value of 
Silks at Yokohama. 

Louis Ballai, (Hungary,) Department Councillor to the Minister of 
Commerce of Budapest. 

Gregoire Humruz, (Turkey,) Engineer-Counsel of the port of Sal- 
onique. 

Victor Conrot (Luxembourg,) Director of Luxembourg Draperies at 
Pulfermulh. 

Notice. 

All communications should be addressed to Monsieur Paul Fleury, 
Secretaire G^n^ral , 9, rue d'Uzes, a Paris (ii«= arrondissement). 



28 



Report Presented to the Minister of Commerce, Man- 
ufactures, Mails and Telegraphs, 

By Monsieur Ferdinand Roy, 
Corresponding Secrctarx of the Congress. 

[Translated by Mr. C. J. H. Woodbury.] 

Mr. Minister — 

In accepting the honorary presidency of the international Congress for 
the unification of the numbering of yarns, you have testified to the in- 
terest that you have in its actions ; moreover, the members of the Con- 
gress have regretted that your absence from Paris prevented you from 
presiding at the opening session. 

In the name of the Board and in the office of corresponding secre- 
tary, I am deputized to call your attention to the resolutions which have 
been passed and to solicit your able co-operation for putting them into 
practice. 

First, I beg to draw your attention to the i)romptness with which the 
foreign Governments have responded to the invitation of the Commiss- 
ion of Organization. 

At the last Congress held at Paris in 1878, Austria, Belgium, Italy, 
Sweden and Switzerland were the only ones represented by official dele- 
gates. But this year, to the delegates of these six governments have 
been added the delegates of Germany, the United States, Great Britian, 
Hungary, Luxembourg, Japan, Mexico, Russia and Turkey, making in all 
fifteen countries represented by twenty-six official delegates. 

With the exception of Holland, all the countries where the textile 
industry occupies a position of however little importance, have been 
represented officially. Is it not an evident proof of the growth of senti- 
ment which is exhibited in all the countries in favor of the unification of 
the numbering of yarns? As to the rest, all the official delegates — 
except the English delegates — have brought the favorable opinion of 
their governments and of the manufacturers of their countries. 

Morever, they have been unanimous in asking for the assembling of a 
diplomatic, international conference in which would be discussed the 
possibility of adopting simultaneously, and in all countries, with or with- 
out England, for all textiles, or for a portion of textiles, the unification 
indicated by the Congress. 



29 

The international situation for the numbering of the different textiles 
is as follows : 

For raw and finished silk, the opinion of the Congress, as stated be- 
low, is unanimous. The diplomatic Conference could easily prepare 
for adoption as the legal standard in all countries some standard 
adopted by the Congress. 

For cotton, wool, linen and spun silk, all the delegates have declared 
that their governments were in principle partisans of the metric num- 
bering. The English Government alone, has made known through the 
medium of her official delegates that the existing English numberings 
could not be modified until the day when the metric decimal system 
would be rendered obligatory in England, and that, even then, they 
could not be certain that the spinners would be disposed to entirely 
abandon their old practices. 

In view of the declarations of the English delegates, the French and 
foreign representatives of the linen industry have declared that in 
spite of their earnest desire to adopt the metric numbering, they could 
not do so until England had effected the same change, for the reason 
that there was a great deal of international commerce in linen yarns 
numbered according to the English system. 

The same difficulties do not occur for the industries of cotton, wool 
and spun silk. Many delegates have properly raised some difficulties 
on the subject of the possibility of making the unification without the 
co-operation of England, but we think that these could easily be re- 
moved in a diplomatic conference. 

These are the questions adopted by the Congress as worthy of being 
discussed to a finality by the diplomatic conference. 

1. Unification of the standardization or raw and finished silk in 
conformity to the resolution passed by the Congress of Paris in igoo; 

2. Unification of the kilogramnietric numbering of wool, cotton and 
spun silk in all countries except England, expecting that England, by 
the general adoption of the metric decimal system, then of the metric 
numbering, will be added to the concurrence of the other countries. 
Linen would be excepted provisionally for the reasons announced above. 

3. The adoption of the kilogramnietric numbering for all the classi- 
fications of the custom tariffs. (At the present time the custom tariffs 
of Germany, Austria and Spain, are established according to the Eng- 
lish numbering. The Belgian tariff for cotton is calculated on the num- 



30 

ber representing the number of kilometres contained in the half kilo- 
gramme as in France.) 

I have indicated to you above the communications made by the dele- 
gates of the English Government ; inasmuch as the attitude of England 
is one of the delicate points, permit me to give you the impression of 
the members of the Congress : 

This impression is that the manufacturing and commercial interests of 
England are fully persuaded that it is to their advantage to adopt the 
metric decimal system, and that the opposition comes rather from the 
Government. 

Indeed, the Congress has put in evidence the resolution passed by the 
171 Chambers of Commerce, both of England and her colonies, which 
met at London this summer, petitioning the passage by Parliament of a 
bill rendering the metric system obligatory after a period of two years. 
It is true that one of the official delegates of England has maintained that 
the Congress ought not to attach so much importance to this vote which 
was sentimental, the Chambers of Commerce demanding for the form 
an improvement which they knew there was no chance of passing for a 
long time in the future. 

Since the Congress, I have had the opportunity to consult some 
members of the most important Chambers of Commerce of England, 
and they have formally assured me that far from being sentimental, the 
vote expressed by the Chambers of Commerce was the most serious 
and indicated without the possibility of a doubt, the favorable feeling 
and positive benefit from the English industry and commerce accom- 
])anying the metric system. 

However, at the same Congress, Mr. Rowlett, President of the 
Chamber of Commerce of Leicester, was the representative of their 
numerous English manufacturers who find their numbering of textile 
materials undesirably complicated. How could it be otherwise, when 
one sees that in England there are as many different numberings as 
there are textiles, cotton, wool, linen and spun silk. 

At present, one of the arguments of the English Government is this : 
the international commerce is carried on under the English numbering 
and this proves how much this numbering has entered into the 
customs so that even in certain countries where the metric system is 
obligatory, the custom tariffs are established for yarns according to the 
English numbering. It is for this that we propose that for the future 
the custom tariffs may all be established according to the metric num- 
bering. 



31 

The Congress has proposed that from the day when a certain num- 
ber of countries will be united in making the unification, the introduc- 
tion of yarns which are not wound and numbered metrically, may be 
prohibited. 

This clause would not prevent, as some fear, the introduction of yarns 
wound according to the English method, for I can assure you that 
the English spinner readily favors dividing and numbering yarns metric- 
ally. You can obtain an account of it, Mr. Minister, by applying to the 
French custom house : It will tell you that the very great majority of 
English cotton yarns imported in France are wound metrically. The 
only inconvenience that this measure would involve would be to de- 
prive the foreign manufacturers of the privilege of drawing from the 
stocks of wound yarns existing in England, stocks which necessarily are 
made according to the English winding. 

The Italian delegate has pointed out that the Italian spinner, export- 
ing much in the Mediterranean in concurrence with the English spinner 
could not export otherwise than by following the English customs. To 
this the reply was made that the metric numbering would be required 
only for the interior consumption of each country, but that for expor- 
tation the spinners would always be free to yield to the demands of each 
market. 

I believe, therefore, that these small difficulties can be removed in a 
diplomatic conference, and that all the countries, excepting the momen- 
tary exclusion of England, can be unanimous in simultaneously making 
the unification. 

I am going to speak to you, Mr. Minister, of the international 
question. It remains for me to talk with you of some exclusively 
French questions which have been presented to the Congress, by point- 
ing out to you that the foreign members have much desired to vote with 
the French members and to recommend the changes which they were 
demanding in order to bring about the unification, at least in France. 
These two measures are of importance. 

I St. The standardizing of silk. 

2nd. The numbering of cotton. 

For raw and finished silk, France has maintained up to the present 
time the old standard ; the grain or denier (a copper coin weighing i y^ 
grammes) being the unit of weight and the ell being the unit of length. 
The legal standard indicated by the law of June 13, 1S66, and express- 



32 

ing the weight in grammes of a small skein of 500 metres has never been 
adopted by commerce. 

The preceeding Congresses have proposed to adopt as a uniform 
and international standard, the weight in grammes of 10,000 metres of 
yarn. It is this standard that the Commission of Organization asked 
the Congress to confirm. But after a meeting held at Lyons in the 
course of the summer and when the directors of the principal manu- 
facturing establishments of France and of foreign countries had ad- 
vised the adoption as the uniform, international standard of the legal 
Italian standard expressing the weight in half decigrammes of the small 
skein of 450 metres, the Silk Section and afterwards the Cleneral 
Assembly of the Congress adopted this resolution. 

For cotton, the legal and usual French numbering indicates the num- 
ber of kilometres contained in the livre or half kilogramme, while for 
other textiles, wool, spun silk and hemp, the number indicates the num- 
ber of kilometres to the kilogramme. This is an anomaly which ought 
not to exist. It is much preferable that the number of cotton yarn be 
based upon the kilogramme. The Commission of Organization of the 
Congress has consulted the Chambers of Commerce in all the textile 
centers in France, and all have appoved this modification. 

Accordingly, Mr. Minister, the members of the Congress have charged 
me to ask you : 

1st. To revoke the ordinance of May 26, 1819, substituting for it a 
provision imposing, for cotton, wool and spun silk, the numbering based 
on the number of kilometres contained in the kilogramme. 

2nd. To modify the law of June 13, 1866, concerning raw and 
finished silk, in order to adopt as the legal standard the weight in half- 
decigrammes of the small skein of 450 metres. 

If you will indeed bring about these two reforms, France would 
assuredly give an excellent example to the other countries, who, on 
their part, would desire to suppress the irregular numbcrings among them. 

Outside of the introduction of these reforms in France, there is the 
international question which I have submitted to you in the first part of 
this report. 

The members of the Congress have elected a permanent, internat- 
ional commission charged with endeavoring to obtain simultaneously 
among their different Crovernments, the assembling of a diplomatic 
conference. I have the honor to be the President of this Commission, 



33 

and I am going to ask you in its name to fully consent to advocate be- 
fore the Minister of foreign affairs, our request for a meeting of this 
diplomatic international conference. 

Please accept, Mr. Minister, the expression of my highest esteem and 
respect. 

Ferdinand Roy, 

Recording Secretary, 
President of the Permanent Inter7iational Commission. 



34 



General Report on Behalf of the Commission of 

Organization. 

By Edouard Simon, Secretary. 

[Translated by Mr. C. J. H. WoODBURY.] 

It is our good fortune to have with us a number of pioneers, 
among the most eminent of them being Monsieur VON Pacher, 
who had the great merit to urge without ceasing, since 1873, the 
reform for which we are seeking in our turn, your active and per- 
sistent alliance. It is an agreeable duty to welcome at the be- 
ginning of this session the Recording Secretary of the Congress 
ot Vienna who presided with impartiality and constant fidelity 
to duty successively over the Congresses of Brussels, Turin and 
Paris. 

We find here, always animated by the same ardor, a worthy 
representative of the important concentration of industries at 
Verviers, Monsieur MULLENDORF, honorary President of the 
Chamber of Commerce. 

Unhappily indeed, gaps have been made in our ranks, and 
we deplore the absence of devoted associates, illustrious lead- 
ers, such as POUVER-QUERTIER and MiCHEL Alcan. 

There is an obligation on our part to present a history of the 
question, to explain the motives of certain essential particulars 
adopted by the former Congresses in order to introduce the 
new members and to cause them to take the place of their pre- 
decessors without hesitation or apology. 

In this connection, the report addressed, in 1874, to the Min- 
ister of Commerce by MiCHEL Alcan, delegate of the French 
Government to the Congress of Brussels, furnishes some very 
useful suggestions of which we cannot do better than to repro- 
duce the principal passages : 

" For a long time," wrote MiCHEL Alcan, " the enlightened 



35 

manufacturers and merchants of all countries have recognized 
the necessity of a reform from the double views of the facility 
and honesty of commerce, but no initiative was taken on this 
subject until the last universal Exposition at Vienna, in 1873. 
The Chambers of Commerce of manufactures at Lower Austria, 
placed itself at the head of the movement, in order to ac- 
complish the unification of the standard, and a former Congress, 
under the presidency of Baron VON Reckenschutz was held at 
Vienna the same year. This assembly, of which the Recording 
Secretary was Monsieur GuSTAV VON Pacher vonTheinburg, 
a leading Austrian manufacturer, recognized, after discussion, 
the advantages of the metric decimal system and adopted for 
the basis of the new standard the kilogramme as the unit of 
weight and the kilometre as the unit of length, 

In spite of the simplification which should result from the 
general adoption of these units, there were certain difificulties in 
their application and objections to details. The novelty of the 
system for many countries showed the necessity of a new inter- 
national Congress which was called at Brussels, September 21, 
1874, by the Chamber of Commerce of Vienna with the ap- 
proval of the Belgian Government." 

At the request of the central committee, sixty official dele- 
gates responded, representing the manufacturing countries of 
Europe. 

England herself wished to prove by sending commissioners, 
her interest in the project. 

The questions with which this Congress occupied itself were 
the following : 

L Is it desirable to maintain the principle adopted by the 
former Congress, to admit as the basis of the universal standard 
the metre and the gramme? 

The response was unanimously in the affirmative. In conse- 
quence, excepting the modification which will be mentioned 
later and which applies to silk. No. i will correspond to a length 
of one metre weighing one gramme, or i ,000 metres weighing 
one kilogramme for all kinds of yarns. 



36 

If a double length is the same weight, that will be number 2, 
and so on in proportion. 

II. Is it necessary to prescribe a skein winder of determined 
form and dimensions when it is a question of transforming the 
yarn into skeins? Should this skein winder be modified ac- 
cording to the nature of the yarns? 

It has been recognized that the application of the metric 
standard is independent of the system of skeins, the legal length 
of I, ooo metres being the result of a circumference which can be 
varied according to the number of revolutions of the skein 
winder or of any pther mechanical device made for that end. 

The second part of the question is answered by the reply to 
the first. It is evident, moreover, that the same machine could 
serve in the skein winding of all kinds of textile materials, if the 
methods of the consumers and the customs of manufacturers 
did not require dififerent lengths of skeins and relying upon the 
practical facts and wishing to facilitate the extension of the met- 
ric system, the Congress has not rejected any of these circum- 
ferences capable of giving a length equal to i,000 metres. 

III. Is it necessary to adopt for a standard of raw or thrown 
silk yarn a numbering identical with that of other textiles; 
that is to say, the decimal metric standard? Should the scale 
of numbers increase in the manner that the highest number 
corresponds with the finest yarn, as in other specialties? 

The international Congress of Vienna in 1873 had resolved 
affirmatively on these two questions, but after investigations, fol- 
lowing the careful discussions in the meetings, the special com- 
mittee, in the name of which the Commander, JOSEPH Ferrero, 
delegate of the Chamber of Commerce of Turin made a remark- 
able report, proposed, and the Congress of Brussels unanimously 
ratified the following resolutions : 

a. The numbering of raw or thrown silk will be based like 
that of other textile materials upon metric and decimal measures 
with 1 ,000 metres for the unit of length and the decigramme for 
the unit of weight. 

b. In order to conform with the commercial usages of all silk 



37 

raising countries, the scale of numbers will be based upon the 
variable weight with a fixed unit of length, and the samples will 
be made on the length of 500 metres. 

"As one sees ", concluded MiCHEL Alcan, " the principle sub- 
mitted by the Congress at Vienna has been maintained, but the 
elementary method adopted by that Congress has been modi- 
fied in conformity with ordinary and correct practice. In the 
case of silk, the yarn of various sizes is obtained from the 
finest element by joining a greater or less number of these 
elements, while for other materials, the spinner takes a fibrous 
mass which diminishes progressively. This method of inverse 
work imposes upon the state in which these first materials are 
made a method of numbering where the graduation is evenly 
reversed." 

This gives a practical consideration which does not impede in 
any manner the application of the metric decimal system which 
caused the Congress to determine to adopt 500 metres for the 
legal length of samples in the public market. Twenty samples 
made upon small skeins of 500 metres, as is already done in 
practice, shows the irregularities of the thread in a more evident 
manner than ten samples of 1,000 metres in length. 

Our colleague, Monsieur JULES Persoz, in his last work on 
I'Essai des Matieres Textiles, (The Testing of Textile Materials) 
recalls that the Congress of Turin in 1875 endorsed the above 
conclusions that had been studied and adopted in accordance 
with the common view of the last details of the application, and 
that later, the Congress of Paris, in 1878, through its Record- 
ing Secretary, Monsieur GUSTAVE ROY, former President of the 
Chamber of Commerce of Paris impressed the French Govern- 
ment on the question in which we are interested and asked for 
the assembhng of a diplomatic international conference. 

The initiative by individuals meets too great obstacles to 
hope for a solution in conformity with our views, through public 
sentiment, without the intervention of the governments, of the 
several manufacturing countries in the adoption of concurrent, 
legislative measures. The Minister of Commerce, the Honorable 



38 

Monsieur Teisserenc DE Bort, to whom the delegates of the 
Congress of 1878 submitted an address, was of the same opinion 
and was among the first to grasp the importance of the desired 
reform. Continually, in spite of the cordiality with which it 
welcomed the votes of this last Congress, no practical sanction 
has been manifested to this day. 

The Universal Exposition of 1900 presented to some among 
you an exceptionally favorable occasion for taking up this 
question for the unification of spinning and methods of sampling 
these materials. In proportion as human knowledge is de- 
veloped, and international relations multiply, the specialists of 
all countries will appreciate the necessity of uniform measures 
which facilitate and simplify transactions. 

No part of the need of uniformity appears as imperative as 
that of the textile industries where in still smaller and smaller 
degree the manufacturers are limited in the choice of textile 
materials. Sometimes by the necessities of economy, sometimes 
to satisfy the demands of fashion, now and then to comply with 
the double conditions of economy and novelty, the manufac- 
turers combine in the same fabrics yarns of different nature and 
standard. It is not rare to find in a cloth threads made of a 
mixture of different materials, but with warps where are placed 
side by side plain or twisted cotton, spun silk, worsted, with silk 
filling, or just the contrary. This instance will warrant the unifi- 
cation in the interests of the manufacturer who is obliged to give 
his personal attention to long and difficult calculations without 
profit to anyone, calculations only for the purpose of bringing 
to the same standard the numbers of yarns of various countries 
to make the conversion of standards which are variable with the 
country and also with the nature of the materials. 

After having previously communicated their views, two pro- 
moters of this Congress, Monsieur ClIEDVlLLE, President of the 
Association of Woolen Spinners of the Lower Seine, of I'Eure 
and of Calvados, and Monsieur VON Pacher, whom you already 
know, found themselves upon the same ground; to improve to 
the best possible advantage the reunion at Paris of the manu- 



39 

facturcrs of all countries to reach the desired unification of which 
the principle was decided 25 years ago and which still remains 
otherwise. 

Under the auspices of the Commissioner General and with 
the approval of the untiring delegate of the Congress, Monsieur 
Gariel, a Commission of Organization, of which the members 
have been obtained in the principle centers of spinning and 
weaving, which is fundamentally attentive to the state of opinion 
in France and foreign countries. It is necessary, indeed, before 
impressing the public powers anew as to our desires to know if 
these votes still conform to the wishes of those principally 
interested. 

Thanks to the energy of our President and senior member, 
Monsieur WiDMER, whose strength does not diminish by years, 
thanks to the devotion of our Treasurer, Monsieur Fleury, 
who does not spare either time or labor, the French and foreign 
Chambers of Commerce, the Consulting Chambers of Arts and 
Manufactures, the Manufacturers Associations have been con- 
sulted through the medium of circular letters prepared and 
sio-ned by all the officers of the Commission of Organization 
upon the usefulness of the projected Congress, and upon the im- 
mediate practicability of the unification. 

We will not tire you by the details of that correspondence. 
We will keep within bounds by indicating the result: "All of 
the French Chambers of Commerce in the textile centers, with 
the exception of two, at the date of the third of last July, have 
passed the resolutions endorsing the unification of the number- 
ino- of yarns." At the same time the Minister of Commerce, at 
the request of our President in the issue of this inquiry, wished 
to prove the interest which he had in this reform in accepting 
the honorary presidency of the Congress and in appointing to 
carry out its work, two delegates of his ministry. Monsieur 
Briton, Assistant Director of Manufactures, and Monsieur 
Cousin, Assistant Director of Commerce. 

On his part, the Minister of War has appointed Monsieur 
Jasseron, Assistant Military Superintendent of the first class. 
Finally, the Minister of Foreign Affairs has given to our Pres- 



40 

ident the assurance of his essential cooperation for the assem- 
bling of a diplomatic, international conference if, as it is hoped, 
all of the resolutions of this Congress are consistent with the 
conclusions of the former Congresses. 

What then could be a stumbling block today? What is the 
nature of any objections to impede so great efforts? 

It is important to reply in all candor to this inquiry. Great 
Britain, in refusing to adopt the decimal metric system, consti- 
tutes the principle obstacle — and we should not say that we 
owe it to Great Britain, but to the government of Great Britain 
— because there is manifested in the Chambers of Commerce of 
the United Kingdom, a v^ery favorable opinion towards the 
adoption of the decimal and metric weights and measures. 
Among the tentative proceedings in this direction by the dele- 
gates of a great number of English Chambers in 1895. Minister 
Balfour only opposed the question of the suitable opportunity, 
declaring that the education of the English people had not been 
sufificiently developed and that it would be necessary to prepare 
the young generations for the introduction in the programmes of 
teaching, the study of the metric system, that moreover, in our 
own country, absolute unity does not exist. 

This last objection was a blow to us and your Commission of 
Organization is preparing to disprove it. It seems to me that 
in order to be perfectly logical, it is necessary to break away 
in a definite manner from the former usuages which have only 
in their favor the force of custom, so that it is necessary to give a 
good. example in substituting the kilogramme for the half kilo- 
gramme as the basis of the numbering of cotton yarn. 

This transformation is simple, since it is easy to multiply the 
actual number by two, that is to say, to double it in order to 
obtain the proposed standard number. 

You will find among the sections of the imperial decree of 
December 14, 1810, one closing as follows: "All dealers in 
yarn will be obliged to form the small skeins of cotton, linen, 
hemp or woolen yarn in a thread of 100 metres in length and 
make the skein of 10 of these small skeins in such a manner that 
the total length will form a skein of 1,000 meters. These yarns 



41 

will be labelled a number indicating the number of skeins nec- 
essary to weigh a kilogramme." 

Unfortunately, the Royal ordinance of May 26, 1819, annulled 
the decree stated above and decided that all cotton yarns in- 
tended for French fabrics will be labelled by the date of October 
first of the same year with a number indicating the number of 
skeins necessary to form the weight in metric pounds or half 
kilogramme. 

At the request of the principal Chambers of Commence inter- 
ested, we have requested the Minister of Commerce to ask of 
Parliament the repeal of the law of May 26, 18 19, and to return 
to the text of the decree of December 14, 18 10. 

We have thought that there would also be an opportunity to 
modify, in conformity with the conclusions of the former Con- 
gresses, the French law of June 13, 1866, in accordance with 
which the standard of silk is represented by the mean weight 
expressed in grammes of a small skein of 500 metres, the sam- 
ple being made upon 20 small skeins of the same length. 

This legal standard has remained a dead letter and to abro- 
gate at this late day the principle of unification desired, the 
means to obtain it will be by the adoption of the standard called 
international based upon the number of grammes that 10,000 
metres of silk will weigh, the test before carrying it into effect 
being made as in the ordinary manner, upon 20 small skeins of 
500 metres. 

This standard has the double advantage of being metric and 
differing little from the standard in price. 

In requesting the Minister of Commerce to aid us by all his 
power in the vote which we desired, we have sought, meantime, 
to record a reservation at least temporary in regard to the spin- 
ning of linen and jute. 

The spinners of Lille and Dunkerque have stated that the 
international commerce of linen and jute yarn is in the hands of 
England and that as long as the kilogrammetric method of num- 
bering of these yarns has not been adopted by Great Britain, 
our manufacturers will be obliged to market their products in 
the same methods of skeining and packing as English yarns. 



42 

Our object being to facilitate and not to impede commercial 
transactions, it appears to us necessary to make cognizance of 
this fact and admit the reservation formulated in regard to linen 
and jute. 

We desire, on the contrary, in order to press forward this 
unification that for all the other yarns the governments which 
adhere to the proposed measures will not be obliged to enjoin 
in their respective countries the necessary authority, but may 
not permit the importation of foreign yarns divided in a form 
deemed illegal by their own nation. 

It is what Monsieur VON Pacher expressed very scntentiously 
in his letter of August 29, 1899, to Monsieur Alfred Picard, 
in view of the assembling of this Congress, and I ask permission 
of you to terminate this long report by a citation taken from 
that. " It is certain that yarns divided and numbered after the 
metric system will be unsalable in the greater part of European 
markets as long as it is permissible to buy or sell yarns divided 
according to the old systems to which many generations have 
been accustomed. To force spinners by law to divide and num- 
ber their products metrically and to allow at the same time 
foreign countries to import their merchandise, divided accord- 
ing to the old system, would be simply to kill the industry of 
the former. But by appointing a date when the law would 
forbid all commerce from using a numbering and skeining other 
than the metric decimal system, England would be the first to 
divide and number her yarns designed for exportation accord- 
ing to this rational method." 

In summing up, the unification is not impeded by the attach- 
ment of the English Government to a system of measures whose 
merit is that of antiquity, but as we have said before, the prin- 
cipal interests represented by the Chambers of Commerce and 
by the English scientific men desire the adoption of the metric 
measures and on many occasions have clearly formed this opin- 
ion. We hope, therefore, that the subsequent adoption among 
our friends beyond the channel will hasten the attainment of this 
reform of which they will be the first to receive the benefit. 



43 



DISCUSSION. 



Mr. C. J. H. Woodbury. It maybe conceded as an abstact 
proposition that uniform standards of weights and measures are 
advantageous in both manufactures and commerce ; and that 
with the increased use of fabrics woven from )'arns of different 
textile materials, a uniform system of numbering yarns would be 
a convenience at the weaving mill, 3^et the suggestion to change 
the standard of numbering yarns to a basis which would require 
modifications in every step of the design, manufacture and sale 
of all machine-made fabrics is indeed a radical proposition. 

The serious manner in which these innovations have been con- 
sidered by a body representing all of the textile manufacturing 
world, entitles their conclusions to careful consideration, and as 
a convenience to this end, I have computed the following tables 
for a comparison of the proposed international metric standard 
with the present English standard of numbering cotton yarn. 

In the proposed system, one metre of number one yarn would 
weigh one gramme ; or changing to our measures by substituting 
the English equivalents for the metre and the gramme, i .094 
yards of number one yarn would weigh 15.432 grains. 

The weight in grains of 120 yards of number one yarn as 
measured by the proposed international metric standard would be 

Weight of yarn : 15.432=120:1.094. 

TTT • , r 1^-432 X 120 

Weight of yarn^ -^ =1,692.72 grams. 

To find the number of yarn English cotton standard corres- 
ponding to the number of the proposed international metric 
standard, multiply the international number by .59. 

That is, 1,000-^1,692.72 = .59076. 

On the other hand, to find the number of }^arn international 
metric standard corresponding to the English cotton standard, 
multiply the English number by i .69 

That is, 1,692.72-^1,000 = 1.69272. 



44 



TABLE I. 



Changing International Metric Standard into English Cotton 

Yarn Standard. 



Numbe 


r of Yarn. 


s i 

M 


Number 


of Yarn. 




2 -B 


"S "i 


'H 


J3 -p 


t>JJ 


"^ a 


*"• ci 


■S C 


■J cd 


^ rt 


ti c 






J= — 


c c 




bo . 

> * 


'^ 




>. 






>i 


I 


•59 


1692.72 


43 


25.40 


39-37 


2 


1. 18 


847.45 


44 


25.99 


38.48 


3 


1.77 


564-97 


45 


26.58 


37.62 


4 


2.36 


423-73 


46 


27.17 


36.81 


5 


2.95 


338.98 


47 


27.76 


36.02 


6 


3-54 


282.48 


48 


28.35 


. 35-27 


7 


4-13 


242.13 


49 


28.94 


34-55 


8 


4.72 


211.87 


50 


29.54 


33-85 


9 


5-31 


188.32 


51 


30.13 


33-19 


lO 


591 


169.20 


52 


30.72 


32.55 


II 


6.49 


154.08 


53 


31-31 


31-94 


12 


7.08 


141.24 


54 


31.90 


31-35 


13 


7.67 


130-38 


55 


32-49 


30.78 


14 


8.26 


121 07 


56 


33.08 


30.23 


15 


8.85 


113.00 


57 


33-67 


29.70 


16 


9.44 


•05-93 


58 


34-26 


29.19 


17 


10.03 


99.70 


59 


34-85 


28.69 


18 


10.62 


94.16 


60 


35 45 


28.21 


'9 


1 1.22 


89.13 


61 


36.04 


27-75 


20 


1 1. 8 1 


84.66 


62 


36.63 


27.30 


21 


12.40 


80.65 


63 


37.22 


26.87 


22 


12.99 


76.98 


64 


37.81 


26.45 


23 


13-58 


73-64 


65 


38.40 


26.04 


24 


14.17 


70.57 


66 


38.99 


25-65 


25 


14.76 


67-75 


67 


39.58 


25.27 


26 


15-35 


65.15 


68 


40.17 


24.89 


27 


15.94 


62.74 


69 


40.76 


24-53 


28 


16.53 


60.50 


70 


41-35 


24.18 


29 


17.12 


58.41 


71 


41.94 


23.84 


30 


17.72 


56.43 


72 


42.53 


23-51 


31 


18.31 


54.62 


73 


43-12 


23.19 


32 


18.90 


52.91 


74 


43-71 


22.88 


33 


19.49 


51-31 


75 


44-30 


22.57 


34 


20.08 


49.80 


76 


44.89 


22.28 


35 


20.67 


48.38 


77 


45-48 


21.99 


36 


21.26 


47.04 


78 


46.07 


21.71 


37 


21.85 


45-77 


79 


46.66 


21.43 


38 


22.44 


44.56 


80 


47.26 


21.16 


39 


23-03 


43-42 


81 


47-85 


20.90 


40 


23-63 


42.32 


82 


48.44 


20.64 


41 


24.22 


41.29 


83 


49-03 


20.4c 


42 


24.81 


40.31 


84 


49.62 


20.15 



45 



Table I — continued. 



Number of Yarn. 


uj 


Number 


3f Yarn. 


^ 


i i 


J3 T3 


N a 

bi) 


■3 

§ "2 


x: -6 


bJD 




« 1 




■J3 cS 

a -a 

c c 

2 "" 


^ w 


s a 

he . 






>, 






>, 


8s 


50.21 


19.92 


130 


76.80 


13.02 


86 


50.80 


19.68 


131 


77-39 


12.92 


87 


51-39 


19.46 


132 


77-98 


12.82 


88 


51.98 


19.24 


133 


78.57 


12.73 


89 


52.57 


19.02 


134 


79-16 


12.63 


90 


53-17 


18.81 


135 


79-75 


12.54 


91 


53-76 


18.60 


136 


80.34 


12.45 


92 


54-35 


18.40 


137 


80.93 


12.36 


93 


54-94 


18.20 


138 


81.52 


12.27 


94 


55-53 


18.01 


139 


82. n 


12.18 


95 


56.12 


17.82 


140 


82.71 


12.09 


96 


56.71 


17.63 


141 


83-30 


12.00 


97 


57-3° 


17-45 


142 


83.89 


11.92 


98 


57.89 


17.27 


143 


84.48 


11.84 


99 


58.48 


17.10 


144 


85.07 


11.75 


100 


59.08 


16.93 


145 


85.66 


11.67 


lOI 


59.67 


16.76 


146 


86.25 


11.59 


102 


60.26 


16.59 


147 


86.84 


11.52 


103 


60.85 


16.43 


148 


87-43 


11.44 


104 


61.44 


16.28 


149 


88.02 


11-36 


105 


62.03 


16.12 


150 


88.61 


11.29 


106 


62.62 


15-97 


151 


89.20 


II. 21 


107 


63.21 


15.82 


152 


89.79 


II. 14 


108 


63.80 


15.67 


153 


90.38 


11.06 


109 


64-39 


15-53 


154 


90.97 


10.99 


1 10 


64.98 


15.39 


155 


91.56 


10.92 


III 


65-57 


15.25 


156 


92.15 


10.85 


1 12 


66.16 


15. II 


157 


92-74 


10.78 


113 


66.75 


14.98 


158 


93-33 


10.72 


114 


67-34 


14.85 


159 


93-92 


10.65 


IIS 


67-93 


14.72 


160 


94.52 


10.58 


116 


68.52 


14.59 


161 


95.11 


10.51 


117 


69.11 


14-47 


162 


95.70 


10.45 


118 


69.70 


14-35 


163 


96.29 


10.39 


119 


70.29 


14.23 


164 


96.88 


10.32 


120 


70.89 


14.11 


165 


97-47 


10.26 


121 


71.48 


13-99 


166 


98.06 


10.20 


1 22 


72.07 


13-87 


167 


98.65 


10.14 


123 


72.66 


13.76 


168 


99.24 


10.08 


124 


73-25 


13-65 


169 


99-83 


10.02 


125 


73-84 


13.54 


170 


100.43 


9-96 


126 


74-43 


13-43 


171 


101.02 


9.90 


127 


75.02 


13-33 


172 


101.61 


9.84 


128 


75.61 


13-23 


173 


102.21 


9.78 


129 


76.20 


13.12 


174 


102.80 


9-73 



46 



Table I — continued. 



Number of Yarn. 


° i 


Number 


of Yarn. 




"rt 




a 




C 2 


§ "S 


•g V 


be 


-E 


j= y 


be 


":2 a 

a -73 
c c 




S .5 

ba - 


c □ 


.2 3 


S .5 

bis . 




W 5 


U T3 




^ Cfl 


it 






;»^ 






>^, 


175 


103-39 


9.67 


188 


1 1 1.06 


9.00 


176 


103.98 


9.62 


189 


1 1 1.65 


8.96 


177 


104.57 


9.56 


190 


112.24 


8.91 


178 


105.16 


9.51 


191 


112.83 


8.86 


179 


105.75 


9.46 


192 


113.42 


8.82 


180 


106.34 


9.40 


193 


114. 01 


8.77 


181 


106.93 


9-35 


194 


114.60 


^■73 


182 


107.52 


9-30 


195 


115. 19 


8.68 


183 


108. II 


9.25 


196 


115.78 


8.64 


184 


108.70 


9.20 


197 


116.37 


8.59 


185 


109.29 


9.15 


198 


116.96 


8.55 


186 


109.88 


9.10 


199 


117-55 


8.51 


187 


110.47 


9.05 


200 


118.15 


8.46 



TABLE II. 

Changing English Cotton Yarn Standard into International 
Metric Standard. 



Number of Yarn. 


S J 


Number of Yarn. 






■3 




"S 


Z 2 


(/I ^ 


'S a 


be 

s .s 

be 


1 i 


§ -i 

a -o 
a c 


be 
5 .S 


^ Cfl 




> "2 


w 2 




-a 
1? « 




)-H 


f-. 






>^ 


I 


1.69 


1000.00 


16 


27.08 


62.50 


2 


3-39 


500.00 


17 


28.78 


58.82 


3 


5.08 


333-33 


18 


30-47 


55.56 


4 


6.77 


250.00 


19 


32.16 


52.63 


5 


8.46 


200.00 


20 


33.85 


50.00 


6 


10. i6 


166.67 


21 


35-55 


47.62 


7 


11.85 


142.86 


22 


37-24 


45.45 


8 


13-54 


125.00 


23 


38.93 


43.48 


9 


15-23 


III. II 


24 


40.62 


41.67 


10 


16.93 


100.00 


25 


42.32 


40.00 


II 


18.62 


90.91 


26 


44.01 


38.46 


12 


20.31 


83-33 


27 


45.70 


37-04 


13 


22.01 


76.92 


28 


47.40 


35-71 


14 


23.70 


71-43 


29 


49-09 


34-48 


15 


25-39 


66.67 


30 


50.78 


33-33 



47 



Table II — continued. 



Number of Yarn. 




Number of Yarn. 








8 J 




q i 




"S 




"3 




■5 i 


§ i 

c c 


Wl 




§ -2 

C C 


in 




S 5 
2 '^ 


1 -H 




i rt 

s, "" 




31 


52.47 


32.26 


66 


111.72 


15.15 


32 


54-17 


31-25 


67 


1 13.41 


14-93 


33 


55.86 


30-30 


68 


115. 10 


14.71 


34 


57-55 


29.41 


69 


116.80 


14.49 


35 


59.24 


28.57 


70 


118.49 


14.29 


36 


60.94 


27.78 


71 


120.18 


14.08 


37 


62.63 


27.03 


72 


121.87 


13.89 


38 


64.32 


26.32 


73 


123-57 


13.70 


39 


66.01 


26.54 


74 


125.26 


13-51 


40 


67.71 


25.00 


75 


126.95 


13-33 


41 


69.40 


24-39 


76 


128.65 


13-16 


42 


71.09 


23.81 


77 


130-34 


12.99 


43 


72.79 


23.26 


78 


132.03 


12.82 


44 


74.48 


22.73 


79 


133-72 


12.66 


45 


76.17 


22.22 


80 


135-42 


12.50 


46 


77.86 


21.74 


81 


137. II 


12.35 


47 


79.56 


21.28 


82 


138.80 


12.20 


48 


81.25 


20.83 


83 


140.49 


12.05 


49 


82.94 


20.41 


84 


142.19 


1 1.90 


50 


84.64 


20.00 


85 


143.88 


11.76 


51 


86.33 


19.61 


86 


145-57 


11.63 


52 


88.02 


19.23 


87 


147.26 


11.49 


53 


89.71 


18.87 


88 


148.96 


11.36 


54 


91.41 


18.52 


89 


150.65 


11.24 


55 


93.10 


18.18 


90 


152-34 


II. II 


56 


94-79 


17.86 


91 


154.04 


10.99 


57 


96.49 


17-55 


92 


155-73 


10.87 


58 


98.18 


17.24 


93 


157.42 


10.75 


59 


99.87 


16.95 


94 


159.ll 


10.64 


60 


101.56 


16.67 


95 


160.81 


10.53 


61 


103.25 


16.39 


96 


162.50 


10.42 


62 


I04-95 


16.13 


97 


164.19 


10.31 


63 


106.64 


15.87 


98 


165.88 


10.20 


64 


108.33 


15-63 


99 


167.58 


10.10 


65 


110.03 


15-38 


100 


169.27 


10.00 



48 

The Secretary. In regard to the proposed diplomatic con- 
gress, I wrote the Secretary of State inquiring if anything had 
been done about it, and have received the following reply from 
the Assistant Secretary of State : 

Department of State, 

Washington, April i8, 1901. 

C. J. H. Woodbury, Esq., 

Secretary, New England Cotton Manufacturers' Association, 
45 Milk Street, Boston, Massachusetts. 

Sir — 

I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 12th inst. 
stating that at a meeting of the International Congress for the unifica- 
tion of the numbering of yarns, held at Paris in September, 1900, a 
proposal for the assembling of an international diplomatic congress for 
the purpose of putting into legal effect the standards of yarn measure- 
ment was unanimously passed, and inquiring whether any preliminary 
action has been initiated in this line. 

In reply I have to say that this Department has no advices whatever 
on the subject. 

I am, Sir, 

Your obedient servant, 

DAVID J. HILL, 

Assistant Secretary. 

The Secretary. I have also received the following letter, 
which in translation reads: 

French Republic. 

Permanent Committee of the International Congress of 1900 for the 

Unification of the Numbering of Yarns. 

Paris, April 16, 1901. 
Mr. C. J. H. WooDP.UKY, Secretary. 

New England Cotton Manufacturers' Association, 
Boston, Mass., U. S. A. 

Dear Sir — 

Mr. Paul Fleurv, Secretary of the Permanent International Com- 
mittee for the unification of the numbering of yarns, being absent from 



49 

Paris for some days, your letter of April 2nd has been opened by the 
President of this Committee. 

In the name of Mr. Fleury, we thank you for your invitation to 
attend your annual meeting. 

We are pleased to learn that you have placed among the subjects of 
the programme the study of the results of the Congress held at Paris 
last year for the unification of numbering. We sincerely hope that the 
members of your Association will be of the opinion that it is necessary 
to adopt the standard in America of the metric numbering. We are at 
your service to give you all the information which can be of use to you. 

We will send you, moreover, in three or four weeks, the complete 
report of the works of the Congress of 1900. 

We will be highly pleased if you can inform us the action that has 
been made at your meeting to the proposition of general unification of 
the numbering of yarns of all kinds. 

Please accept our highest respects. 

F. ROY, 

• President of the Pertnanent Committee. 

The President. Mr. Brooks. 

Mr. Christopher P. Brooks. Mr. President and gentle- 
men : It seems to me that it should be a matter of gratification 
to the Association to know that the Secretary has so ably trans- 
lated the somewhat extensive and complicated report of the 
International Conference on the numbering of cotton yarns. It 
is difficult not only on account of the technical phrases in it, but 
in consequence of the somewhat rambling rhetoric which is 
noticeable in connection with the discussions of the congress. 

As our Secretary has intimated, the recommendations of the 
congress are that all textile manufacturers of all nations shall 
adopt as a standard not only for cotton, but for silk, jute, woolen 
and all other fibres, the standard of No. one's being based on one 
metre in a gramme or one kilometre in a kilogramme, so that the 
numbers will be expressed by the number of metres in a gramme. 

This is somewhat similar to the present system of numbering 
yarns used in France and a few other continental countries, with 



50 

the difference that at present the standard in France is the num- 
ber of kilometres in half a kilogramme, so that the international 
standard that has been recommended by this conference would 
make the international numbers just double their equivalent in 
the present French standard. In other words, at present a No. 
lo in English standard cotton yarn, which is used in America 
and in England, is No, 8% in French, No. 20 is No. 17, No. 100 
is No. 85 approximately; but under the new standard what we 
now call No. 10 would be No. 17 or thereabouts, what we now 
call No. 20 would be No. 34, what we now call No. 100 would 
be No. 170. 

This system which has been recommended for adoption, and 
not only recommended for adoption, but reconmiendcd for 
compulsory adoption by legal measures to be taken in each 
individual country, is theoretically perfect. There are very few 
men who do not believe in the uniform standard of weights and 
measures, and it is the opinion ©f manufacturers and of 
scientists — more especially of scientists — that the metric 
system should be adopted as the standard system of measuring 
quantities and weights and lengths. This system of measuring 
cotton yarns and all other yarns according to the number of 
metres in a gramme would be an extremely simple and 
extremely advantageous system, one which would lend itself to 
very simple methods of calculation and would further interna- 
tional commerce between different countries in yarns of various 
kinds. 

But while theoretically appropriate and perfect, there are a 
number of difficulties in the way of its practical adoption. In 
the first place, the system that has been recommended is the 
system of a minority of manufacturers. Taking the number of 
spindles throughout the world as 100,000,000, which it is now 
approximately, England having 46,000,000 ; the United States 
having 19,000,000; the East Indies having 4,000,000; Japan 
2,000,000 or 3,000,000, and other countries using our standard 
of cotton yarns possessing io,ooo,000, will give us a total of 
something like 76,000,000 or 77,000,000 spindles, or at least 



51 

three-fourths of the world's manufacturers making yarns at 
present based upon our ordinary system in which the numbers 
of the yarn depend upon the number of hanks of 840 yards 
each in a pound. Of the remaining one-fourth of the spinners 
and manufacturers throughout the world, the system adopted 
varies considerably, and possibly not more than 10,000,000 
spindles, or one-tenth of the cotton mills of the world, are at 
present using the French system. The recommendations of 
this congress would practically force upon the majority of man- 
ufacturers the system which is at present in use by the minority. 
To adopt this system in its entirety, in order to make it com- 
mercially satisfactory in every way it would be necessary for us 
to change over a tremendous number of machines. It would 
be necessary for the English spinners and manufacturers to 
change over many of their machines, for the Asiatic manufac- 
turers to do the same thing, more especially with regard to such 
machines as speeders, mules, warpers, slashers, and other 
machines where there are indicators which measure the length 
of material which passes through the machinery. It would be 
necessary for us to re-cast the whole of our system of calcu- 
lating costs. It would be necessary for us to adopt entirely 
new tables as to production and costs in various departments 
and to thoroughly revise and change our departmental and 
technical book-keeping throughout the mills. And while, 
theoretically, the system that has been recommended by this 
conference appears to be perfect, it seems to me that there are 
practical difficulties in the way of adopting it which will prevent 
its adoption by the world's textile manufacturers. Not only so, 
but it would temporarily, at least, give an advantage to those 
nations now using the metric system for measuring their yarns ; 
it would give them a temporary advantage in international com- 
merce. Their mills and systems are all organized on the basis 
of this system, and for a time, if it were adopted, it would give 
them a temporary advantage until other nations should adopt it. 
I do not know what the other members of the committee 
appointed at Montreal say or how they feel with regard to this, 



52 

but it seems to me that had the International Congress in Paris 
last September recommended for adoption our present system 
of numbering cotton yarns as the standard, it would have been 
very much more favorably received by manufacturers through- 
out the world and would have been very much more likely to 
have been adopted and I feel that it will ultimately be adopted 
— not by any legislation, not by any conference, but merely 
from the fact that the United States is gradually and very 
rapidly increasing its international commerce in textiles, from 
the fact that Great Britain already has a large hold on the 
markets of the world, and from the fact that the American 
and English machinists are practically the sole makers of 
textile machiner)', and will naturally, unless compelled otherwise 
to do, continue to build their machines and indicators and other 
measuring mechanism on the present basis. 

I feel that the world will gradually adopt our present system 
of numbering on the basis of the number of hanks to a pound 
and 840 yards to a hank, without any legislation or conferences, 
merely because they will be compelled to do so in order to 
obtain and maintain their share in the world's commerce. The 
system that has been recommended by this conference is theo- 
retically perfect, but it appears to me practically impossible of 
adoption because of the practical difficulties standing in the way. 
I should like to hear the opinions of any other members of the 
committee or of any one else interested. 

The President. Mr. Lowe. 

Mr. Arthur H. Lowe. Mr. President, I think Mr. BROOKS 
has very ably presented his views on the subject. I read this 
report which was sent me by our Secretary, and I came to the 
conclusion: As the United States or the United States manufac- 
turers were in no way mentioned or referred to, except in one place 
as " North America," it was evident that we had very little part in 
the discussion, and I came to the conclusion that the change would 
only be made when PLngland was disposed to make it. The repre- 



53 

sentative from France was of that opinion, the representative from 
Germany was of that opinion, and the representative from Eng- 
land said, as I recollect, that he had no instructions to commit the 
English manufacturers at all to the recommendations of the 
congress. But I am inclined to think that any one who reads 
the report of this conference and thinks it over in the line 
that Mr. BROOKS has presented, will come to the conclusion 
that they are more likely to adopt for the world's standard the 
present English and American standard than to adopt the stand- 
ard which the congress recommends, though it has many advan- 
tages. The metric system is theoretically a much better system 
than the present method of sizing and numbering yarns, and its 
adoption is desirable. 

The President. Mr. Sanford. 

Mr. Arnold B. Sanford. Mr. President, members of the 
Association : When I received word from our worthy Secretary 
in regard to this matter I gave it some consideration and read 
over this report very carefully, and the more that I have studied 
it, begin to come to the conclusion that we shall probably in time 
arrive at the metric system. Have looked up a little on the 
matter, and speaking of England, I have a clipping here which 
says: "The Decimal Association of England has issued its 
annual report, which states that instruction in the principles of 
the metric system has been made compulsory in some of the 
departments of the English common schools, and at the Con- 
gress of the Chambers of Commerce of the British Empire, held 
in London in June last, a resolution was passed recommending 
that Parliament legalize the metric system in all parts of the 
British Empire except India." 

So it would seem that England is regarding the matter very 
favorably. 

Upon further pursuing the matter, I found, as Mr. BROOKS 
has stated, that the United States and Great Britain are the 
only countries that are really opposed to adopting the metric 



54 

system ; and yet I find that England in exporting her yarns 
uses both systems ; that is, she puts upon each package which 
she exports to foreign countries both the EngHsh numbering and 
the metric numbering. So we are gradually drifting that way, 
and if America is going to do an export business — and I am 
glad to say that within the last six months I have received at 
least four urgent inquiries from Turkey and other countries in 
regard to exportation of yarns, actually meaning business and 
wanting samples and quotations, — we must conform to com- 
mercial conditions of foreign customers. Now we on this side, 
of course, would have to give up our system and adopt this 
metric system, which seems to be firmly established by our 
foreign customers. In fact, France adopted it in 1799, and 
those foreign countries seem to want it. I do not believe but 
what the English and Americans can adopt the metric system 
without a great deal of trouble, and it would be rather a compli- 
ment for us, Mr. President, to do it. It would show that we 
could adapt ourselves to the wants of the foreign trade. I do 
not think there would be any great stumbling blocks in the way. 
In England today, there are about as many tables for number- 
ing textiles as there are textiles produced. Is not that so, Mr. 
Brooks? 

Mr. CHRisToniER P. Brooks. Yes. 

Mr, Arnold B. Sanford. Now if we could simplify it in 
that way — at least for cotton, spun silk and woolen yarn, and 
have one table, it would be a good thing. (I do not think we 
could bring in the linen and the jute, as it may not be quite 
feasible yet.) It would enable a man who wanted to produce a 
certain kind of a fabric requiring different grades of yarn, cotton 
and woolen or silk, to give his order correctly for the numbers 
wanted. I frequently receive an order like this : " Please send 
me 500 lbs. of 50-2ply yarn. At the same time send me 50 lbs. 
silk or woolen to go with it, the same corresponding length and 
number." I of course have to turn to the comparative tables to 



55 

figure that out. The average purchaser of goods does not seem 
to carry that information ; he expects the spinner or the selHng 
agent to furnish him with it. So I am incHned to beheve we are 
going to come to the metric system. England already, as I say, 
is advancing in the line, much more than we are, as you may 
judge by these resolutions which were actually "adopted at this 
English Congress held at London last June. But it would be of 
no earthly use for the United States to go into it unless Great 
Britain would go in and make it universal — that is to say, have 
it come at one time. In order to prepare us for that we want to 
wait, perhaps, two or three years, and have each government 
decide upon the date when it shall go into effect. Then we may 
all come into line and adopt the metric system at a given date. It 
would be all right then for every government under the sun to 
take hold of it. But until we come to that point it would be a 
simple matter of physical impossibility to take it up here. But 
I believe England is already in advance on that line and is going 
to adopt that system before a great while. We want to go for 
the foreign trade, I want to emphasize that, and have an outlet 
for both our yarns and our goods ; and I hope the American 
manufacturers will pay more attention to that than they have 
done, and if they do we want to fix our goods the way they want 
them, number them, label them, pack them as they want them, 
cater to their wants and not to our own ideas. The sooner we 
get into that position the better it will be for this country, that 
is, to seek an outlet for our cotton mills' surplus productions. 

Mr. George Otis Draper. Referring to this question of 
the unification of the numbering of yarn, it strikes me very 
forcibly that we of the Anglo-Saxon race are sometimes very 
unprogressive in comparison to other nations. When we failed 
to adopt a plan so universally advantageous as the metric sys- 
tem, it is doubtful whether we can hope for any similar advance 
in any minor field. The attitude of the various representatives 
at the congress is certainly instructive, showing how England, 
alone, blocked the way; and yet we, who look with combined 



56 

pity and amusement at their continuation of book-keeping in 
pounds, shillings, and pence, have no right to condemn, so long 
as we stick to inches, feet and yards. 

We have not, as yet, done much of an export business in 
cotton yarns, so have less need for a unified classification ; but 
we should certainly familiarize ourselves with the International 
standard. 



